Are you shy to speak about God?

A daunting question that entertains most of our young people today is, “Is God really a private affair?” This question has challenged the theologians, atheists, agnostics, and the believers in God. Some would distinguish between religion and God; religion is a private affair and God is a universal phenomena. Prof Richard Dawkins, an atheist, a rationalist believes that concept God is not a private affair; hence we speak and preach about him in our churches, mosques, and temples. God is not really a private affair that cannot be talked about outside but we have a draw a line when we want to prove that God of this religion or that religion is more important or more Godly than others; this is limiting God to human institution.

In my homily on Easter Sunday, I called upon all the young people not to afraid or shy to speak about God; we all need God. Some of us need him only when we are struck with some chronic illness or succumb to depression or loss of someone loved one. We need God all the time, at times, we are not aware of his silent presence in our lives, for he probably lets us enjoy our freedom as a mother would watch her child enjoying in the meadows. God will watch over us just a mother watches over her children from the corner of her eyes. Just to elaborate aforementioned imagery of God, let us think about our own birth; we were formed in our mother’s womb in darkness and silence. No one knew how you going to look like yet mother had a hope that her child will be born as full grown and healthy baby. When being formed in our mother’s womb, who do you think gave us that form? I know I sound un-scientific but why is that some tissues are not formed properly and baby is deformed? Do the scientists have an explanation? Probably yes that the tissue is premature or misconception and etc. But my point is, can the doctors or mother put that deformed baby to right form to be born as a fully healthy baby. That’s where God comes in; we have no control over certain realities of life. Now, you can elaborate this imagery and even think of millions of other realities of life to have the knowledge of God and more importantly believe in that power of the divine God.

During the World Youth Day in Brazil, Pope Francis called upon the millions of youth gathered in Copacabana beach, to go and make disciples of all nations. He expressed Jesus’ call to the young people to make disciples not because one would like to, or if one has time, but it is a mission we are born to do. This message struck a cord in myself. But I want the young people who heard this call from God, to make disciples to speak and tell me whether you are doing it, whether you are fulfilling God’s purpose for you. Are you shy to speak of God when you have an experience of God? Stop thinking that only saints, priest, bishops and righteous persons have God experience. Each and every person born in this universe has the experience of God, including Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Kruass and Sam Harris, but their God experience is covered up by their own intelligence; including the intelligence is given by God, because not all of us are given same level of intelligence, some people have low intelligence even if they are trained by a best teacher.

What is your God experience? When I was growing up, I did not pay attention too much to the birthday and its significance, but over the years it dawned on me that our birth is first proof of God’s existence, and for me my birth is even more profound, in which event I had an experience of God. We were not aware that we had this God experience but ask our mothers they would agree with me that, it was a profound God experience when they gave birth to their children after a long labour pain. For some parents, the innocent and natural smile of their children is a God experience. So now, try to remember what are you God experiences? If you have any, do not be shy to speak about it, hence God’s power and presence can make the others aware about their experiences of God.

Often times, young persons are have enormous peer pressure where they create an ideal world for themselves and other; this world they live in is virtual world where they find themselves jumping into band wagon. It takes less courage to follow someone’s ideals like the sheep that follows the shepherd but it requires extra courage to stand out in a crowd; it requires humility and humiliation to speak up your convictions and experiences. Jesus stood out in the crowd and spoke up against the popular ideologies and practices. This brought him great humiliation and death itself, but he is not forgotten and his voice is not supressed in the crowd, rather his voice is spoken after 2015 years to challenge the popular ideologies that bring injustice and inequality.

Why do our young people shy away from speaking about God and for God? I have a few usual suspicious arguments. 1. We live in the 21 Century; I have had a few experience where people challenging me that what is not tangible to our senses or cannot be proved by scientific methodology, is not really true. Hence, we seek for truth just like Richard Dawkins seeks for it all his life. Can anyone prove how different forms of living creatures came into this planet, or who gave them that form? Can you prove why a bird does not look like a snake? Can human scientist do that? We cannot prove everything in the universe; much less we cannot grasp every reality from our senses, for our senses are limited to certain extent only. 2. Your God and my God; this is long standing misconception that is being indoctrinated in our young people. Christian God is different that of Hindu God or Muslim God. We have come away from this understanding. God is universal and is One True God. Every religion teaches One God but different ways of approaching this God. Hence do not differentiate between gods. 3. God, a private affair; most would think God has to be in the Church, temple, or mosque. We are shy to bring him out of these worship places to our day to lives. We can have God experience right in my work place or in the aeroplane. God must be everyone’s business not only priests and believers. God must be a public affair; we must talk about God in our day today life. Do not be shy to begin your rocking party with a prayer. 4. God is a concept; for some God might be just a concept to discuss, to argue pro God or against God. Here, we are trying to limit God to merely human entities. God becomes a subject matter of our lives. 5. Speaking God and humiliation; some of us shy to speak about God in our daily forum of discussions. We are fearful that someone else might humiliate us for speaking about God. We might be considered weak and “old stylist”. This is an issue for most our young people. We have to come away from it, unless we speak about God, we cannot bring God someone’s life who has not God. This was an issue for me when I was in the college, but I grappled with it and come away from that shyness; I am not afraid to speak about God anywhere despite knowing that my listeners think I am crazy young man who speaks about God. 6. God and technology; someone might inclined to think that the technology is our God. We can mend or bend using the modern technology. Technology can help us only to an extent after which we rely on God’s providence. For example, can any technology cure deadly leukaemia and save people dying from it?

Therefore, young persons like me, do not be shy or fearful to speak of God in any forum. Let your life be full of God so God can flow from you to others in the world. We need God in our lives not merely when we are on our deathbed or when we are abandoned by our loved ones, but we need God all the time. Do not try to put down or humiliate someone who believes and speaks about God, you also will realize that you need God too but may be not yet. Let us try to put God before us, when we do that, our human ways of violence and power are sidelined, because God’s ways are not human ways.